4 - the directory and Napoleons rise to power

Thermedorian Reaction

The time between the fall of Robespierre and set up of the directory
The terror dismantled and revenge taken

Early measures to ensure the end of the terror - July- Augut

July - CGS + CPS filled with moderates
August - 22 prarial repealed + revolutionary tribunal reorganised, decentralisation and reduced powers of CPS + CGS
Paris commune powers reduced

later 1794 measures to end terror

Sep - church + state seperated
Nov - Jacobin club shut down
Dec - law of maximum repealed

Measures in 1795 to end terror

Feb - toleration of all religions proclaimed
April - representants en mission abolished
May - revolutionary tribunal abolished
Oct - law of suspects repealed

The white terror

Series of purges - Thermedorians took action against proponents of the terror
Threat to stability from returning emigres

Verona declaration June 1795

by King's brother - promised to restore French glory + take revenge on regicides

Royalist uprisings June 1795

Multiple uprisings defeated
e.g. Qubieron bay execution of 700 emigres

Feb 1795 oath of loyalty reintroduced

NC had tried to limit Chrisitian practices to stop Catholic uprisings but failed
so reintroduced oath

Success in war 1795

Thermidorians committed to stopping external conflict, limiting the royalist challenge
Left only Britain at war with France, allowed for internal focus

Causes of the 1975 Paris risings

Thermedorians favoured economic freedom

• ended price controls
• dereg trade
• restoring paper currency and ending maximum = disastrous
• poor harvest 1794
• assignat value fell + factories forced to close
• Parisian bread ration fell to 60g a day

Rising of the germinal - 1 April 1795

• gov weakened without resources
• 10,000 SC invaded NC demanding 'bread and constitution of 1793'
• not armed + organised
• withdrew without resistance
• NC put Paris put under martial law + arrested agitators

Rising of the prarial (20/21 May 1795l

Mainly women SC invaded NC

• demanded release of Jacobin prisioners
• constitution of 1793
• controls on food
  Murdered a deputy

Response to rising of prarial 21 May

20,000 SC + NG trained loaded canon on NC
40,000 troops brough - dispersed peacefully
42 NG executed, leaders rounded up

rising of the vendemiare (5 october)

Royalist uprising

• 25,000 royalists marching on NC
• Outnumbered Napoleons battalion 6:1
  Napoleon fired 40 canon, 300 killed
  Overall NC retained control

Constitution of the directory

November 1795
Drawn up by Thermidorians
Desired stability + moderation

The directory

5 directors chosen by Ancients
formed executive
1 member changes each year

The legislature of directory

Ancients - 250 voted on it
500 - proposed + drew up legislation

Elections for directory

3rd of deputies step down each year
Electors: paid certain aount of tax sat in assemblies
Voters: all male taxpayers over 21 = citizens who vote = 5.5million out of 8 million adult men

Success of the directory

laster 14 years
No clear direction
Directors had varying views
Hard to work together
No mechanism to solve disputes between directors and councils

Overview of the economic problems of the directory

Thermidorians tried to switch from economic control to liberal averment = inflation
By end of 1795 assignats = worthless

The economic issues facing the directory

• Inherited badly balanced budget (worsened by war)
• tax collection problems
• food supply problems (poor harvest 1795)
• British blockading ports
• trading bad bc war

Efforts made by directory to restabilise the country

• switch to metal currency - helped inflation but lack of coins = deflation
• 1795 weights + measures standardised and good harvest (76+8) = decreased grain price
• 1798 Ramel made tax collecting efficient + property tax = BoP surplus in 97+8 but alienated bourgeosie

Political issues of directory

Royalist + Jacobin challenges to directory's moderate democracy
Directory only possible as army suppressed rising in Vandermark days before established
3 coups (Fructidor, Floreal, Prarial)

Cause of the Coup of Fructidor

• April 1797 elections saw constitutional monarchists gain 182 seats so over 1/3 of the deputies had royalist sympathies
• Fears thus arose that the following election would bring a royalist majority

Coup of Fructidor - 4 september 1797

• To prevent this, Directors Barras, Rewbell and Revelliere-Lepeaux plotted to leak evidence that Pichegru (president of 500) had made contact with royalist emigres
• Pichegru arrested, he and 500 were accused of "acting against the revolution"
• arrested 177 deputies
• 42 opposition newspapers shut down

Aftermath of the Coup of Fructidor

• Members of 2nd Estate declared 'foreigners' + had to regain their rights as citizens
• emigres given 2 weeks to leave France
• Refractory priests imprisoned or deported
• Showed a deep lack of confidence in the electoral process

Cause of the coup of Floreal 11 May 1798

Directory passed to minimise Royalists in March 1798
But Jacobins thrived

Law of 22 Floreal (11 May)

Election results atered
127 deputies purged from 500
results from 8 departments quashed
Reinforced the difficulties of the constitution

Cause of the coup of prarial (18 June 1798)

• 500 + Ancients questioned the war + claimed the election of Director Treilhard was illegal

The coup of prarial (18 June 1789)

17 June replaced Treilhard with Jacobin from NC

• Director Sieyes supported council demand that 2 directors should stand down
• Sieyes brought troops to capital = resignations same day

Impact of the coupr of prarial (18 June 1798)

By 1799 confidence in dirctory was low
Increased divisions in directory
Overturning election results and relying on army

Strengths of the directory

Attempt at moderate revolution
Had bourgeosie support and economic measures successful
Years of success in war

Weaknesses of the directory

Tolerated not supported
Destroyed by inward corruption
Lacked clear future vision
Corruption was an attempt to stop extremism
Processes underdeveloped

Napoleon's background

• Not in early rev
• Part of Jacobins + NG in Corsica
• career took off fighting counter rev and war
• saved republic at royalist Vendemiare rising Oct 1795

Napoleon's Italian Campaign

1797,- Appointed commander in chief of army of Italy

• transformed it from demoralised, underequipped, under nourished to capable fighting force

Napoleons success in Italian campaign 1797

April Piedemont Sardiania withdrew from war - - boosted republic
Tales of Napoleons success led Pope + king of Naples to rapidly sign treaties paying indmnites
By May 1797 dominated Italy
Advanced to Leboen in Austria
October - treaty of campo formio with Austria - negotiated by Napoleon without directory

Imapct of Napoleon's Italian campaign

Reshaped the map of France
Ended the war of 1st coalition = only still at war with Britian
Gave him major fame

Aims of Napoleon's Egypt campaign

success would:

• protect trade
• attack British trade
• undermine British access to colonies
• easy success
• export enlightenment to Egyptians

Napoleon's egypt campaign

Set off May 1798 with army of orient 35,000 troops
Advanced + destroyed Egyptians in battle of pyramids (Cairo) July
August British navy destroyed French fleet - napoleon cut off from France
Went North to Syria with 13,000, took Jaffa in March 1799

Egyptian campaign going badly

Abandoed seige of Acre - route between Syria + Egypt

• underestimated defenders + British
• retreated after 2 months
• returned to Cairo

The 2nd coalition

Oct 1797-March 1799 peace in Europe due to treaty of campo Formio
Taking adv of Napoleon away new coalition against France 1788-99
Several invasions 1799

Napoleon's return to France

Napoleon saw oportunity
Aug 1799 left most army in Egypt - arrived Oct 1799
Enemies repelled + Russians withdrew from coalition
Directory weak after coups + purges 1788-99
Napoleons failure (egypt + Syria) unknown = saviour

Napoleon's contribution to success

• intelligent military strategist
• speed + manoeuvrability
• developed self-contained small army corps to move to decive enemy
• 'march divded fight united'
• forced march - took troops long distances + lived off land so didn't have to rely on supplies
• appointed commanders by talent
• troops well paid + supplied
• motivated troops by speeches + led by example

cause of coup of Brumaire November 1799

Return of Napoleon = possible invasion, reduced chance of pro-peace royalist faction of gaining strength
Director Sieyes felt there had to be constitutional change to make stronger gov due to instability May 1799

23 October 1799 (coup of brumaire)

Sieyes bribed council members
Arranged for Napoleon's brother Lucien to be elected President of 500
Troops deployed round Paris ready for action

18 brumanrie (the coup of brumaire)

Ancients sympathetic to coup warned colleges of Jacobin conspiracy
Both councils persuaded too leave Paris + move to Palace of Saint-Cloud away from jacobin mobs
Napoleon promised safety of councils + took command of 6,000 parasian troops round Saint-cloud
Sieyes + Ducas resigned as directors
Remaining directors put under house arrest

19 Brumanrie/ 10 Nov (coup of bumanrie)

Deputies realised been tricked + facing coup not jacobin rebellion
Napoleon stromed Ancients
Lucien got palace guards to intervene and deputies left
Lucien appointed 3 deputies from Ancients to run gov until new constitution
Directory ended

The aims of the new constitution of Year Viii

Sieyes did coup to establish executive with srong leadership
Adopted 24 december 1799

The constitution of Year VIII

-divided executive power among three councils (souncil of state, senate and legislature led by first consul)
-promoted universal male suffrage - in first stage voting all French over 21 could vote
-complex system of checks and balances

Strengths of the constitutions of Year VIII

Strong top down control - what Sieyes wanted

Weaknesses of the constituion of Year VIII

• 1st consul very powerful (appoint/dismiss ministers, make legislative proposals, foreign policy)
• Sieyes dissapointed with outcome + stepped aside
• complex
• senatus consultum allowed 1st consul to bypass opposition in legislative body

By the end of 1799

Napoleon shown overwhelming political ambition but not yet autocratic ruler of France

• Coup greeted with apathy not enthusiasm (jacobin sentiment lingered in Paris)
• constitutional arrangements worked to Napoleon's advantage
• economic crisis + insecurity = anxiety